1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to inkjet printing apparatuses and methods.
2. Discussion of the Background
Conventionally, inkjet printers are known that use solvent ink for printing. (See, e.g., JP-A-2007-160546.) In such an inkjet printer, the ink is fixed, for example, by heating a medium after the ink is ejected. Conventionally, a heater having a heating element for heating has been used to heat the medium during fixing of the ink. For example, the inkjet printer described in JP-A-2007-160546 uses a conductive layer, provided on a platen, as the heating element. In this case, the conductive layer produces heat by generating eddy current in the conductive layer so as to heat the medium.
Recently, a variety of media are used for inkjet printers. When heating a medium using a heater as in the conventional method, the medium may be heated at a temperature over its allowable temperature limit so as to affect the medium, depending on the material of the medium. However, if the temperature of the heater is lowered, it is necessary to heat the medium for a longer time period so as to decrease the throughput of the printing. Therefore, for example, it is sometimes difficult to suitably fix the solvent ink.
For example, inkjet printers using solvent ink have recently been used to print on fibrous media. However, in the conventional case of fixing the solvent ink by heating the medium with a heater, an aftertreatment is required that includes heating with steam (steaming), for example, when printing on such fibrous media in order to develop the color of the ink, in addition to heating with the heater. Therefore, when using the conventional printing method to print on a fibrous medium using an inkjet printer, many treatments should be performed after ejection of ink, thus increasing the cost. Furthermore, an apparatus for heating with steam is a large-scale apparatus, because it is provided with effluent treatment facilities. Therefore, in a case where heating with steam is required, the cost of the apparatus itself is significantly increased. In addition, the space in which the inkjet printer is to be installed may be limited. Accordingly, when printing on a fibrous medium, it is strongly desired to fix the solvent ink to the medium without an aftertreatment such as heating with steam.
Thus, it is desired to provide an inkjet printer and a printing method capable of solving the aforementioned problems.